2007年VOA标准英语-East Timor Quiet on Eve of Election

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Dili, East Timor
08 May 2007

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Election workers prepare ballot boxes to be distributed to remote sub-districts after a ceremony at the local district office in Dili, East Timor, 08 May 2007

The troubled nation of East Timor is calm on the eve of elections as people prepare to choose between a Nobel Peace prizewinner and an ex-independence fighter for the country's new president. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins is in the capital Dili and brings us this report.

After a year of political turmoil² and violence, East Timor was calm Tuesday, a day before voters select a new president.

This election campaign period, which follows a first round of voting last month that failed to produce an outright³ winner, has been peaceful, raising hope for stability in the future.

Steven Weigensail, who works with the United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor, says there was little violence during the campaign.

"It's been quite a peaceful campaign period. We have had no major security incidents reported, a few issues here and there across the country, but by and large it has been a very peaceful and calm election campaign," he said.

Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is running against Francisco "Lu'Olo" Guterres, a former independence fighter and president of the parliament, which his Fretilin party dominates.

The vote Wednesday is the final stage of the presidential election. In the first round last month, none of the eight candidates won a majority, forcing a face-off between the two top voter winners.

Analysts⁴ say Ramos Horta is the man to beat. The 57-year-old has the backing of the influential⁵ Catholic Church and the support of five of the losing candidates from the first round of voting.

Jacob Callar, a teacher at a university in Dili, says whoever wins the largely ceremonial post of president must take steps to end the violence here and create jobs. Half the people here are unemployed⁶.

"Whoever becomes president, the important thing is that first look at the people, give the good security, and guarantee people life. Many people are still in refugee [camps.] Second, fix up the economic [situation] so people from abroad can come to invest in East Timor, so that people can have a job," said Callar.

East Timor descended⁷ into chaos⁸ a year ago after the sacking of half the armed forces set off fighting among the security forces that plunged⁹ into street-gang battles.

Two thirds of the residents of Dili fled to refugee camps, where tens of thousands still remain.

Order was only restored after the government requested an international peacekeeping force, which remains¹⁰ in the country.

East Timor, which voted for independence from Indonesia's 24-year rule in 1999, became fully¹¹ independent five years ago after several years under the United Nations.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

3 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

6 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

7 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。